day 7
Another morning on the road, another hearty breakfast of sausages and eggs. The weather wasn’t looking too promising outside and the sand fly army had their strength in numbers. I quickly turned off the gas (that is done from the outside) got the camper running, took a few snaps of the makeshift huts that surrounded us and got on the road. The area is known for whitebait farmers, the season, which was due to start the following season probably made the camp site very quiet.
It didn’t feel like the weather was going to get any better but we kept our optimism. We were going to see the glaciers!! We made a couple stops along the way and noticed a few interesting things. The beaches on the West Coast are covered with driftwood. On one beach I asked Monita to pull over so I could get some snaps. There were white rocks everywhere, and they had writing on them. All sorts of messages but mostly people’s names and the dates they were passing through. I found a vivid and we left our mark on the place!
We carried on to Fox Glacier. The area is proudly known as Glacier Country. We followed the river up through a forest and after a few minutes it just opened up into this valley and we were once again dwarfed by mountains. We prepped for the rain and I noticed for the first time in almost 24 hours we had reception. Knowing the rain was settling in we quickly walked up to the terminal face of the glacier. There are many warnings on the track, the track is very exposed with rock fall and rising water levels being the main dangers. The track got quite steep really quickly before ending at the lookout. I took some photos and we made our way back as the rain started getting heavier. We saw three tourists who had walked all the way up to the terminal face of the glacier, despite all the warnings about being crushed by falling ice. Which has happened many times in the past.
Next stop, Franz Josef Glacier, the rain was heavy. Our ‘wet weather’ gear was soaked. The walk was longer so we decided to skip this one. But I’ve vowed to come back and get dropped off on the glacier by helicopter before the glaciers retreat completely. Lake Matheson is 10 minutes out of Franz Josef glacier village, its very picturesque. On a good day the reflection is unbeatable. That day was not a good day. We went for a drive anyway, found a café and bought the nicest chocolate chip cookie.
Next stop, Hokitika. Went to the supermarket and re-stocked our supplies before calling it a night next to a lake just south of Hokitika. Home made lamb burgers with a side of fries! The rain carried on well into the night.
